Ulivo Wellness

7 hacks for achieving better sleep

I will get straight to the point of this article:

If you want to achieve peak performance in anything you do in life, at work, in your sport here is the secret: You must have a good quality sleep. And for this, a healthy bed routine and functional nasal breathing (yes I’m a breathing instructor), is essential.

Therefore…

Here are the top 7 things you can do to achieve a great quality sleep:

1. Wear blue light blocking glasses

Especially during the low light hours (early morning and evening), wearing blue light blocking glasses will help to reduce the impact on screen-time on your brain. You can also set a timer on your phone and laptop to switch automatically to night mode (your screen will appear more yellow-ish).

2. Sleep in a cool, well ventilated room

The quality of air in your house will enormously affect the quality of your sleep (and life). Most of the information processing done by your brain happens during the night, so make sure you have enough fresh oxygenated air in your bedroom for it to assimilate, process and digest all the information you have collected during the day. Otherwise it will be like pumping dusted, unfiltered gasoline directly into the engine of your car. You don’t want that!

3. Avoid eating late or drinking too much alcohol before going to bed

I know it’s sounds boring but it’s essential that we watch what we eat and drink, particularly at night. Processed and heavy food will keep your digestive system active for a big chunk of the “falling asleep” process, it will impair your breathing and may cause acid reflux. Drinking alcohol also isn’t going to help you achieving a good night sleep. Yes, it may assist you snoozing off, however your sleep will be fragmented and the quality of it, poor. Check out here what experts have to say in this regard.

4. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon

Another substance we should avoid in the afternoon is caffeine. It has a half-life of 3-5 hours, thus an afternoon “nice cup of coffee” can leave you lying awake at night. And if you think you body is already used to it and it doesn’t affect your sleep, ask yourself if you can manage well all those thousands thought at any given moment.

5. Aim for more regular sleep rather than more sleep

Experts say that a regular sleeping pattern is far more important for information learning and processing than striving to achieve always the 8-hours sleeping cycle but fluctuating between 9h-6h-5h-10h, … Therefore, make sure you build a routine around your sleeping time and you stick with it.

6. Take a moment to disconnect from your day before going to bed

The transition phase before going to bed is an essential part of the good-sleeping routine. Make sure you switch the phone off at least 30 min before and practice some breathing exercises to help you disconnect with the events of the day. Sign up for our breathing program to learn how you can use your own breathe to assist you with it

7. Wear a mouth tape

Yes, you read that right. Tape your mouth before going to bed. If it feels strange or it gives you anxiety, you can use special Myotape, a sleep support tool designed to encourage nose breathing and reducing snoring and sleep apnea.

I hope you enjoyed this article and I got you motivated to try one of our programs.

by Fabio Cancogni

Breathing Instructor | Oxygen Advantage